It is for the best interests of the City of Schenectady and of the citizens
and public thereof that a comprehensive plan for the planting, maintenance,
removal and replacement of park and city street trees and trees which may
overhang public streets within said city should be developed and established;
and that this ordinance is adopted, therefore, for the purpose of developing
and providing for such a plan and program and for the purpose of establishing
rules and regulations relating to the planting, maintenance, removal and replacement
of such trees.

A listing of suitable and desirable types and species of trees able
to thrive in an urban setting. The list shall be compiled and kept up-to-date
by the Environmental Conservation Commission through consulting with persons
such as Cooperative Extensions, arborists, nurserymen and Cornell University.
Said report shall be known as the "master tree list," shall be placed on file
in the office of the City Clerk and shall, thereafter, be the official determination
of the Superintendent. Revisions or changes in said master tree list may be
made from time to time by the Superintendent of Parks. All trees hereafter
planted in public lands or which may overhang the public streets of the city
must be on the master tree list unless a written permit from the Superintendent
of Parks shall have first been obtained to plant a tree not on said list.

The Superintendent of Parks shall have jurisdiction and control of the
planting, setting out, location and placement of all trees in the public parks
of the city and, with the approval of the City Engineer, in the public streets
of the city and shall likewise have supervision, direction and control of
the care, trimming, removal, relocation and replacement thereof.

It shall be unlawful and it is hereby prohibited for any person other
than the Superintendent of Parks or his duly authorized agent or deputy to
cut, trim, prune, spray, brace, plant, move, remove or replace any tree in
any public street or public park within the city, or to cause the same to
be done, unless and until a written permit to do so shall have been first
obtained from the Superintendent of Parks. The applicant must obtain a permit,
and the suggested worker must be approved by the Superintendent. The Superintendent
of Parks may require the worker to follow street and park tree specifications,
as updated by the Environmental Conservation Commission, as a term of the
permit Any such permit may be declared void and a fine imposed by the Superintendent
if its terms are violated.

No person other than an owner or public utility may do any act for which
a permit is required under § 243-7 hereof, except a person whose
principal business is tree surgery, trimming or maintenance and who, in the
opinion of the Superintendent of Parks, is qualified for such business and
who has obtained a permit to carry on such business in the city from the Superintendent
of Parks. Permits issued pursuant to this section may be granted for a period
of one year from the date of issuance.

Any person doing business as a public utility subject to the jurisdiction
of the Public Utilities Commission of the State of New York and any constituted
public agency authorized to provide and providing utility service shall be
given a permit from the Superintendent, valid for one year from the date of
issuance, permitting such person to trim, brace, remove or perform such other
acts with respect to trees growing adjacent to the public streets of the city,
or which grow upon private property to the extent that they encroach upon
such public streets, as may be necessary to comply with the safety regulations
of said Commission and as may be necessary to maintain the safe operation
of its business.

It shall be unlawful for any person to break, injure, deface, mutilate,
kill or destroy any tree or set fire or permit any fire to burn where such
fire or the heat thereof will injure any portion of any tree in any public
street or park in the city, nor shall any person place, apply, attach or keep
attached to any such tree or to the guard or stake intended for the protection
thereof any wire, rope (other than one used to support a young or broken tree),
sign, paint or any other substance, structure, thing or device of any kind
or nature whatsoever, without having first obtained a written permit from
the Superintendent of Parks to do so.

The Superintendent of Parks may inspect any tree upon, or which overhangs,
any city street to determine whether the same or any portion thereof is in
such a condition as to constitute a hazard or impediment to the progress or
vision of anyone traveling on such city street. Any tree or part thereof growing
upon private property but overhanging or interfering with the use of any street
that, in the opinion of the Superintendent of Parks, endangers the life, health,
safety or property of the public shall be declared a public nuisance. If the
owner of such private property does not correct or remove such nuisance within
10 days after receipt of written notice thereof from the Superintendent of
Parks, the Superintendent of Parks shall cause the nuisance to be corrected
or removed, and the cost shall be assessed to such owner.

In the case of emergencies, such as windstorms, ice storms or other
disasters, the requirements of this chapter may be waived by the Superintendent
of Parks during the emergency period so as not to hamper private or public
work to restore order in the city.

Any person violating the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor and shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding $500. In
addition, any person who removes a tree in any public street or park without
a written permit from the Superintendent of Parks, or who damages a tree such
that it must be removed, is legally and financially responsible for replacement.
The removed tree may be replaced with another of equal DBH (diameter breast
height) or with two or more trees such that the sum of the DBH's of the replacement
trees equals or exceeds that of the removed tree. The Superintendent of Parks
will designate the location of the replacement tree or trees, not necessarily
in the same location as the removed tree.

Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Superintendent of Parks may
make a written request to the Environmental Conservation Commission for a
hearing on whether or not the decision of the Superintendent of Parks is in
accordance with this chapter.